Austin, Texas — Tesla’s first completed Cybertruck finally rolled off the production line on Saturday, ahead of what is supposed to be a full model launch of the highly-anticipated truck later on in 2023.
The Cybertruck aims to compete directly with other popular electric pickup trucks, like the Ford F-150 Lightning or one of Rivian’s pickups, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk says he would ideally like to produce about 250,000 Cybertrucks per year, demand permitting.
The futuristic truck, positioned to serve as the brand’s workhorse vehicle, has dealt with numerous supply disruptions, component shortages and general design changes that have led to a two year delay since its originally scheduled release in 2021.
Some may recall that even the truck’s 2019 reveal was marred with a glaring design flaw—namely that the Cybertruck’s “armour glass” windows couldn’t stand up to a thrown metal ball like they thought they would.
Given the truck’s unique body design, the full launch of the Cybertruck will likely inspire either a welcome challenge to body technicians who encounter it, or a dreaded sight once the particulars of its repair process become more familiar to shops.
Reporting by Reuters from the previous year indicates that the Cybertruck is likely to enter mass production at Tesla’s Giga Texas plant by the end of this year.
The completion of this Cybertruck model was first announced via Twitter on Saturday.
First Cybertruck built at Giga Texas! 🤠 pic.twitter.com/ODRhHVsd0t
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 15, 2023
